Brothers Who Follow These Four Mental Check-Ins Will Be Happier.

(ThyBlackMan.com) On average, white men outlive black men by eighty-four months. That equates to 2556 days. Some would argue quality is more precious than quantity. I would most agree. It is possible to have been outlived in number, but not necessarily in fulfillment. How we choose to live each day makes up the difference in quality and quantity.

Here’s the key: whatever circumstance we may find ourselves confronting, the key to our success is to always rely on our inner substance and strength. Those two virtues are constantly being made and remade by the alchemy of living.

A few daily mental check-ins can absolutely make a huge difference in the meeting the demands of our physical environment. Add these inspirational gems to your daily mental checklist.

Laugh as Much as Possible

What makes you laugh? Here’s some great advice from Catherine Pulsifer: May laughter fill your home, relieve your stress and strengthen your friendships. Do not let a day go by without laughing; it is good for your health.

Laugh at yourself, black man! I laugh as often as I can during the day or evening. Do likewise. Laughter melts the tension built up from a stressful day. If you are around kids, laugh uproariously at how they go about bantering with their peers, how they play and act out their innocent dreams. Kids are a great source of fun and laughter. If that doesn’t work, just turn on one of your favorite episodes of a long-lost situation comedy! Just laugh!

Do Not Fear Criticism

Criticism, like death and taxes, is a universal lot. We all get it just about every day of our lives. For black men in particular, criticism can often become a cruel reality. Unfortunately, we bear the brunt of undo criticism. It’s time we respond to criticism – from personal to corporate to social – in a different and empowering manner. Do not be afraid of it; learn to allow it to roll off your back. Brush it off and show up the next morning. External criticism connects to our Inner Heckler and makes us doubt ourselves even more.

Don’t look at every person who critiques you as a ‘hater’. If there is anything virtue in it, learn from. Otherwise, if you feel you are being unjustly slammed, consider this tidbit of advice from an anonymous person: When criticized, consider the source.

Find the Beauty in Every Ugly

One of the most difficult things to do in life is to look at something ugly and try to discover its beauty. We don’t often see beauty in our struggle to maintain a home, stay ahead of bills and retain our strength as men. This reality can especially be challenging if we are dads dealing with a hostile co-parent. Co-parenting from separate households is already a formidable reality.

It can be ugly. The beauty is always in the child, in the evolving life. Remember the rose, ignore the thorns, croons a famous songstress.

Determine to Leave the World Better than How You Found It

Leaving the world better than you found it means building your life to the degree it’s better than the day you began building it. Make your life healthier. Make a child smile. Improve a social condition. Be more. Live more. Love more.

We are all going somewhere, and if we keep our head to the sky, that somewhere is the place of dreams. The architect of the Universe didn’t build a stairwell going nowhere, writes the famed author, Rollo Maye.

Whatever your lot, pull from your inner strength.

Staff Writer; W. Eric Croomes

This talented brother is a holistic lifestyle exercise expert and founder and executive coach of Infinite Strategies LLC, a multi-level coaching firm that develops and executes strategies for fitness training, youth achievement and lifestyle management. Eric is an author, fitness professional, holistic life coach and motivational speaker.

In October 2015, Eric released Life’s A Gym: Seven Fitness Principles to Get the Best of Both, which shows readers how to use exercise to attract a feeling of wellness, success and freedom (Infinite Strategies Coaching LLC, 2015) – http://www.infinitestrategiescoaching.com.